While the whole world was battling with the deadly pandemic, Instagram upped its game and grabbed the attention of millions of Internauts. Instagram Reels, introduced somewhere in the middle of August 2020 has gained immense popularity and is still rocking the social canvas. And not so surprisingly, intelligent brands have started leveraging their potential in their marketing strategy.
A short video (15-30 seconds) bundled with music, AR effects, and creativity have the potential to captivate the online mass (and even go viral). Some say it is TikTok’s playoff while some deny it. Well, we’ll leave the guesswork up to you.
You will want to create reels that keep your audience engaged (even for that golden 15 seconds), but not aware of how? We’ve got you covered.
Here are 5 effective tips you can leverage in your reels marketing.
Tell your story
The action of browsing the brand page and looking for the ‘about’ section has been considerably reduced (not everyone has the time to do so…… and honestly it’s tiring). But what if that story can be displayed in visuals with maybe some music, some AR technology, some case studies, and …. umm, filters? A bland story turned into a super interesting one! All your past experiences that shape the “why” of your brand is something users will not want to miss.
Introducing food and people. Arts and food living up to the expectations.!
Show your products
A great way to display your products (and services too) and their uses. And maybe their creative process. Of course, who doesn’t want to dive deep into the production process of their favorite products (and meet the people behind it)? If not the dull and dry long blog posts, your audience is sure to be captivated by the on-loop visuals with background music. And yes, you can make sales announcements and offer discount codes too. What’s more – consumers can shop directly from Reels! The new update “view products” enables the users to get a list of products featured.
What can be more intriguing than Louis Vuitton’s stunning collection displayed on reels?
Educate the viewers
By ‘educate’ we do not mean employing chalk and chalkboard and start lecturing as the chemistry teacher did back in school. Produce relevant content that surrounds your niche industry and at the same time promotes your products (not too salesly, but genuine). For example, if you are a skincare brand, you can make a 15 second tutorial on “How to perfectly apply a sunscreen” and “The everyday routine to a hydrating skin” and how they can use your products to get that “matte finish”. Users would love to see content that helps them with the skincare regime. With a piece of soothing background music and effects, your reel will create a long-lasting impression (more than the chalkboard)
Another creative move may be to collect user-generated questions and answer them in your reels (maybe with real-time demonstrations) or take time and create a humor-filled FAQ reel on the most common questions.
Food videos are already satisfying and the food networking channel The Feed Feed is all high to make them go viral.
Leverage user reviews and case studies
In the age of information, celebrity endorsements and faking reviews will not persuade consumers to purchase from you. But a review or opinion from a real user can. You can take the user-generated content (pictures or videos posted by your existing customers validating your products) and use them in your reels. You can also take past case studies or reviews left on your website and highlight the headers. A blend of visuals and texts can help the viewers understand your point clearly.
Red Bull’s reels are as energetic as their drinks.
Show behind-the-scenes content
Make your reel (or your brand) more human by giving away the content that goes on behind the production scene. It can be your employees’ work environment, the raw materials you use in the production, or a day in the life of your office (a day in the life videos are really popular by the way!). These unfiltered scenes are more likely to bridge the connection between you and your customer avatar and give them something they can relate to.
Like every other strategy, the key is to keep testing and optimizing. Instagram analytics might help you to keep track of the successful and not-so-successful content. And timely optimization will help in keeping the content fresh and crisp.
So, you are now packed with a bundle of ideas that you can expand in your next team meeting and produce desirable results. Social media has given rise to a new era of digital marketing (especially after the world fell into despair owing to the pandemic) and marketers are equipped with creative and innovative swords to grab the attention of the audience. Keeping pace with the evolving dimensions will keep you on board with the large-scale audience.
